Implementer Posts
There’s a System for That
If you’re ever struggling with something in your business, there’s a simple way to move forward. Ask yourself, “What’s our system for that?” What you’ll often find is either: You don’t have a system, and that’s the real issue Or you do have a system, but it’s in need of improvement Here’s the real secret: lasting success doesn’t come from talent or effort alone. It comes from a system. When You Don’t Have a System Let’s say you’re struggling to add new clients as fast as you want. Profit is good. Customer satisfaction is strong. But your growth has stalled. The solution is simple. Ask yourself, “What’s our system for generating new business?” The only issue is that you might realize you don’t have one. Your growth may have come solely from word-of-mouth and client referrals, and now that’s not enough. You’re ready to expand and scale, but you’re missing a reliable,
When is the best time to do EOS. When is it OK, even desirable to delay?
I Knew I’d Found Something Special The first time I read Traction, I had that rare gut-level reaction: This is it. Within two months, we were in our Focus Day. We didn’t wait around. And every time I sit in session with a leadership team, they tell me, “I wish we had found EOS sooner.” So why do so many businesses delay implementing something that has already transformed tens of thousands of companies across the globe? Let’s break down the common reasons—and let’s be real about whether they’re valid. The Reality: If you’re too busy to install a system that helps you focus, prioritise, and delegate—you’re exactly the kind of business that needs EOS. Busyness is often a symptom of chaos, unclear priorities, and poor delegation—all addressed by strengthening the Six Key Components™. Is it valid? Not really. As Gino Wickman says, “You don’t become less busy. You become better
World-class Strategy for Your Business
Why EOS® Is Lean Strategy for Entrepreneurial Companies Through his research at Bain & Company, Michael Mankins presents a pervasive issue with the approach large, global enterprises take for strategic planning: inconsistency. In his compelling article in Harvard Business Review, Mankins presents this as a core problem: “Strategic decisions are often thought to be unique—like snowflakes.” The result is predictable: slower decisions, lower-quality outcomes, and missed results. He cites that a quarter of surveyed companies made strategic decisions that were suboptimal, too slow more than 45% of the time, and failed to meet more than 30% of their results. Mankins’ solution is to make strategy a form of standard work. At its core, that’s exactly what the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®) is for small to mid-sized businesses. While his research focuses on massive enterprises, the EOS framework brings the same rigor, discipline, and structure to entrepreneurial companies in a vastly
Just Solve It! — What, Now How
During a recent IDS® session, I found myself listening for over 45 minutes as a client’s teamwent back and forth on a single issue. We only had two hours left in the meeting—and 25 moreissues to work through! The conversation wasn’t about what needed to happen. Everyone hadalready agreed on that. It was all about how it should be done. And that’s where teams oftenget stuck. This dysfunction is usually rooted in the lack of two things: trust and accountability. Oncethere’s alignment on the outcome, it’s time to stop debating. Someone just needs to takeownership of the solution, and the team needs to trust them to execute. But here’s the thing: lack of trust is often rooted in fear—fear of failure, fear of letting go (I cando it better), fear that the job won’t get done right – or my way. When people don’t fully trusttheir teammates, they try to
The Most Overlooked Leadership Ability (And Why It Matters Now)
The Most Overlooked Leadership Ability (And Why It Matters Now) Author: Meg Thoreson Early in the EOS Journey, during Focus Day, the idea of “hitting the ceiling” is introduced. It’s a rough patch when things feel chaotic or off-track. Teams are frustrated, and growth stalls. I always reassure my clients that these ceilings aren’t a failure, they’re simply the natural byproduct of growth. And there’s a way through. EOS teaches that leadership teams can break through any ceiling by strengthening Five Leadership Abilities. Most teams can name four right away: Simplify! Delegate!! Structure!!! Systemize!!!! And then comes the pause. The forgotten middle child of the bunch: Predict. Prediction doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. Maybe because it’s quieter, less glamorous. But in my experience, it’s one of the most powerful abilities a leadership team can develop. The Discipline of Prediction Being a good predictor isn’t about having a crystal ball.
When Incentive Plans Fail: Lessons from My Own Experience
For 14 years in my last business, we had a profit-sharing plan. I thought it was brilliant — reward people, build culture, and give everyone a little extra skin in the game. What could go wrong? Well… everything. The reality is that our plan didn’t change behavior, it didn’t drive profits, and it quickly became just another payroll expense. People liked it — who doesn’t like “free money”? — but it didn’t motivate anyone to think or act differently. It was like putting a treadmill in the office: everyone appreciated the gesture, but no one actually used it. That experience taught me the hard way what I now teach through ProfitWorks: if your incentive plan isn’t self-funded — meaning the payout is covered by the extra profits your team generates — then it’s not really an incentive plan. It’s just a bonus. The Six Common Mistakes At ProfitWorks, we’ve identified